The One
by ShilohWhittier
Summary: The Sequel to my previous work, Promises. 2 years after the birth of their son, Steve and Danielle have remained successfully hidden, living in a quiet domestic bliss. But when their peace is once again taken from them, they do what they must: stand and fight. "Understand, danger is a side effect of the life we live. And to protect others, we also have to protect ourselves."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys! If you're clicking on this and have not yet read the previous story, I'd heavily suggest doing so. The story is called 'Promises', and that of course, you can find on my profile.  
>This is Part Two of a series I wrote about a month ago, and the bug has bitten me yet again. If you're joining me again after finishing Promises, I am so glad you came back. I've got a hell of a storyboard mocked up here, so I hope you guys are in for some fun! Reviews and first impressions are GREATLY appreciated. Thanks for checking it out!<strong>

* * *

><p><em><strong>2 years later.<strong>_

If there was one thing Danielle loved more than anything, it was the smell of her son's hair. She could be mad, crying, hormonal, and one whiff and a squeeze around the belly from her son, she felt completely better. Hunter was her whole world. Hunter and Steve. They consumed her thoughts. They were all she worried about. That was it.

Her life felt like a dream.

At first, she'd been a nervous wreck. Constantly checking security protocols. Trips to the grocery store ended with her on the verge of panic attack. Living in constant fear, having her home invaded, her body, her child put at risk, was something she had become used to. Safety, for the most part, wasn't something she felt she could live in. Not anymore.

It was very hard for her to believe they could remain hidden. But as the months stretched on, and she got used to the heavily forested surroundings of the upper Oregon Coast, she began to feel at ease.

They'd found a house on the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by forest and a good 15 minutes from the closest town. Forest paths ran around the woods, and a staircase led down from the house to the rocky beach, that was rocky and cold and fiercely beautiful. On the rare sunny days, Danielle would spend hours with Hunter exploring the tide pools and making sand castles.

Within the two years, Hunter had grown significantly. He was walking, talking, and strong. So strong. His eyes shone bright blue, and his mop of messy hair grew past his ears. He was dashing, born to be handsome. Dimples and a smile brighter than the sun, and a laugh so contagious he could brighten any gloomy rainy day.

They hardly heard from anyone in New York. Occasionally, they'd get brief messages on secure lines, but even that was risky. Anything that happened, they heard about on the news. And even then that was rare. It seemed, although maybe this was because they were separated from the life, that the world had cooled down, if only for a while.

Their life had become domestic, eerily so. Fragile, Danielle called it.

They spent some days exploring, hiking around the forest or driving around the hills. They spent whole days sleeping, or reading, or cooking. Steve watched a lot of movies. He finally had time to catch up on things. Danielle would often be called into the living room as he pointed with excitement at the battling robots or blue aliens. "They look real!" he'd always say with awe.

Danielle wrote, never publishing anything online, and read book after book. She cooked, the happy housewife her mother had always dreamed she would become.

Hunter liked arts and crafts, their fridge and the walls of his room were plastered in his creations.

As the months stretched on, they even ventured out enough to travel. Canada, California, Mexico in Winter. They flew to Hawaii.

Steve had grown a beard. Danielle's hair trailed down her back. They only wore sunglasses and hats in public. They weren't recognized, not even once.

Every now and then they saw little news stories on theories of where Captain America had gone, if he finally retired. SHIELD made a statement on his behalf, keeping up the guise that he was working on Black Ops, and the fights he was fighting were not publicized. All lies.

He in fact watched one of these press conferences on cloudy day, smiling in spite of himself. All he'd done, ever, his whole life, was work. And yet here he was, with his son at his feet coloring, laying on the couch. He couldn't help but feel happy about it.

Of course, having breaks from the action was not unheard of. After New York, he'd had a good 6 months to himself before duty called again. It was like the world had quietly allowed for it. There were days, of course, where he felt his throat knot up at the images on the news. And as time crept on, it became slightly harder to enjoy his lazy days. Everytime he felt himself wanting to sleep an extra ten minutes, he'd feel a rush of guilt and the whole train of thoughts would swarm his head. Usually, Danielle saw his look of sudden distress, and would cross the room, putting her hand to his cheek gently.

"Whenever you want, we can go back." she would say, and he would nod.

"Not just yet." he would sigh.

That morning was like most. Late start. It was early May, and flowers were blooming outside the windows. Hunter was drawing page after page of different things, and handing them all to his father as he finished. Each one was received with compliments and promises to hang it up when he was through with them all. Danielle wandered around the kitchen aimlessly, unsure of what sounded good to eat. The morning was heavy, sleep still weighed the family down slightly. It drizzled outside.

Danielle pressed her forehead against the back sliding glass door, looking over at the stormy waters. That was the thing about the Oregon coast, is that the ocean was always stormy, capped with white. That morning it seemed particularly blustery. Rain clouds hovered on the horizon.

She ran her finger along a line of perspiration on the other side of the window.

Suddenly, a figure slammed against the glass. Danielle screamed, falling backwards.

Steve ran into the kitchen the next moment, bending down to pull Danielle to her feet.

"Oh my god-" Danielle said, after the initial shock passed. She rushed to the door, yanking it open with a squeak. Natasha lay on the back deck, unconscious, covered in blood.

She pressed her hands against Natasha's chest, feeling for the injuries, healing them as quickly as she could. She was out of practice, and it took longer than she would have liked. Natasha gasped, her eyes snapping open. She was gasping for air, and pressed her hands against her face, and then patted down the rest of her body, making sure she was all there.

"Tasha, Natasha." Danielle was saying, until their eyes met. "What's wrong, what happened?"

Natasha swallowed.

"They found us." she whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha shook slightly as she tried to recount the past day to the couple. She tapped her fingers against the oak table. She spoke deliberately, slowly, forcing herself to remain level, burying any hint of emotion.

"They took Washington first." she said quietly. "A Soviet sister of Hydra, similar in ideals, they worked together on a few...projects before. They're called AIM, Advanced Idea Mechanics. Originally intended for weapon design in World War 2, they moved to underground Russia. SHIELD has dealt with them before, but this time...we were massively outgunned. After half of SHIELD's agents were outed being Hydra...I mean, we were pretty much understaffed anyways"

"Soviet?" Steve asked.

She nodded slowly.

"Some of my old friends showed up." she sighed, and again, busied her fingers in her lap.

"Banner?" Steve asked.

"He's back in India. I don't even know if he knows what's going on." Natasha said.

Danielle looked at Steve, quickly, and then turned her gaze back to Natasha.

"They took Clint. For some reason they...took him. It should have been me. He doesn't even speak Russian. He was the only one he took. The only other one who lived, as far as I know." she smiled, just barely. "There's a lot of them, thought. Once word got out, I mean, it quietly but very quickly turned to chaos. National Guard is on the move. The Navy is setting up a brigade off Alaska. They seem to planning to hit another city, either New York or...maybe Chicago? Hell, it could be West Coast. LA, San Francisco, Vegas. Heavy populated areas. They only attacked SHIELD this time, but they indicated they are looking for civilian causalities soon. We're in the dark. Our intel didn't see this coming. Pretty sure we could be on the brink of nuclear conflict. Shit with Russia gets real _real _fast."

Danielle swallowed.

"Pardon my language." Natasha glanced at Hunter, playing in the other room. "He got big."

"2 years is a long time." Steve said, rather flatly. Natasha looked at him.

"_I _didn't hide away in some forest, Cap." Natasha said.

"Before you both start bickering-" Danielle cut off Steve as he opened his mouth to retort. "I just realized something. Natasha, did you override our security system when you got to the driveway?"

Natasha shook her head. "I didn't even think about it."

Danielle stood, crossing the kitchen to the small screen embedded on the wall. "We got a system stronger than the White House. You should have triggered it. Something's wrong." she said, tapping through the options. "Hell, squirrels trigger it. Natasha, can you give me a hand?"

Natasha joined her, looking through the security program with narrowed eyes.

"It appears to be functioning." she said after a minute. "Hang on-"

She sighed, tapping faster, opening different sections. Digging. She whispered in Russian.

"Okay, I'm not trying to freak you guys out, but I think it would be best that we go." she said quietly. "There's been a bug installed through an underground network. It's from an offsite location, but they have full access. Cameras, the motion detectors. They know I'm here."

"Who?"

"AIM." Natasha sighed. "I don't know how much time we have."

"Hunter." Danielle said quickly, darting into the living room. "Go get your backpack, baby, the special one we keep by the closet."

He looked up at her with wide eyes. He didn't like the way her voice sounded. He didn't recognize the emotion of fear in his mother. It scared him. He went to his room hurriedly.

"What are we going to do with him?" she whispered to Steve, sounding both panicked and angry. He shook his head. "We can't take him with us, wherever we're going. If we're going to fight."

"Are _we_ going to fight?" he asked.

She raised a brow. "You were going to do this alone?"

"That was-" he began, but she cut him off.

She shook her head. "I'm going with you. Wherever we're going, I'm going with you. There are people who want to hurt us, and they know where we, and our baby, are right now. And I'm not going to let you fight them without me there helping."

He grinned.

"You've missed it, I know you have." she said softly.

"No." he said. "I like home. And peace, and being normal. But for a long time, conflict was my life. This is just like...coming back from vacation."

"That sounds about right."

"We should go." he said.

"I'll go get the bags." she sighed, and turned to the bedroom.

* * *

><p>They were on the road within a half hour, heading to the border. Natasha sat in the backseat trying to contact anyone who was left. Anyone who was on their side. Hunter slept in the carseat beside her.<p>

"Isn't this the same truck we stole when we were on the run?" Natasha asked absentmindedly after a while.

"Uh..." Steve began, and Danielle gave him a puzzled look.

"Yeah, it is. Same make and model." Natasha said. "And I'm sure he'd prefer I'd said 'borrowed'" she addressed Danielle's concerned face.

"That's what happened." Steve said. "Temporarily borrowed."

"It got blown up, Steve." Natasha said.

"I replaced it." he said quietly. She leaned forward.

"Are you serious?"

"Have you met him, before, Natasha?" Danielle said, looking at the book in her lap. Natasha shrugged, leaning back.

"Do you think they took Clint back to Russia?"

Natasha pressed her head against the tablet, wincing. "I don't want to think about what they're doing right now, to be honest."

"Fury?"

"He wasn't there. He...he's been working in LA a lot, actually. I haven't been able to contact him." she said, frustrated. "We lost almost every DC agent all at once. I mean, it was...a total nightmare. I don't remember seeing that much blood since-" she took a deep breath, trailing off.

"Natasha, why didn't we hear about this?" Steve said. "We watch the news almost everyday."

"They did it quietly. There was not a single gunshot. They released gas, and the gas made everyone bleed. From every inch of their body, just bleeding. I jumped out a window before it fully effected me. Got to Stark's house, stole a jet. If I hadn't been so sick I might haven't crashed it."

"Everyone?" Danielle asked quietly, watching Natasha in the rear-view mirror."

"A chemical weapon like we've never seen."

Danielle watched the winding highway before them, the Toledo River on their right, as they wound up the 101. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

"Do you have Hakim's number?" Danielle asked.

"Uh, Hakim?" Natasha said, and then remembered. "Right, the water guy. He hasn't been in contact with SHIELD in a while, as far as I know, but I can try."

"He lives in Portland." Danielle said.

"He does?" Steve asked. She nodded. She pointed at a passing highway sign.

"And we can be there in an hour."

* * *

><p>The city of Portland opened up beneath them as they wound around a corner. Natasha had been talking to Hakim for the past 40 minutes, about everything that had happened and what they were trying to plan. They just wanted to get hidden, for now, and Natasha knew of a conglomerate of safe houses past Victoria in Canada.<p>

"Yeah, we're almost there. Get some stuff together. We need to get out of the States as soon as we can." she said before hanging up. "Hakim is in, he's happy to help. He said something about getting the band back together." she smiled down at the phone.

Danielle pulled her legs underneath her, leaning her cheek against the window. She glanced at her son in the backseat, still passed out. When they were all together, even though she knew the future was unsure, and even dangerous, she still felt content. Her family made her felt safe.

Hakim lived in a tall apartment building downtown. They waited outside in the car as he came down with his stuff.

"Road trip!" he said cheerfully as he climbed in beside Natasha. "Hey, cool baby. Looks like you, Steve." he said.

"Thanks, we made him ourselves." Danielle replied.

"Alright, so. Another chapter in the lives of this wonderful ass-kicking team. Now, I suggest we proceed casually, like nothing is wrong, because there's been a pair of agents in that SUV back there watching my apartment for the past two days, and they bugged my house. They're probably going to follow us, so how about we get a move on?"

"I can take them out." Natasha suggested.

"Not yet." Steve said, pulling the truck away from the curb and watching the dark car behind him carefully. "We need to see what these people want.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Alright guys! Chapter finished. In proper honor of NaNoWriMo, I'll be trying to update as often as possible, as this is the only project I'm working on. Let me know what you think. More soon! Thanks all for reading, subscribing, and reviewing!_


	3. Chapter 3

The car followed them out of the city, and up the highway as they neared Canada.

It was decided quite quickly that the car wouldn't follow them across the border. About 10 minutes before they reached Canada, Steve pulled the truck over. They watched, about 400 yards behind them, as the black car did the same.

"Alright, let's get this over with." Natasha sighed, opening the car door.

"We need a plan of attack." Steve said.

"Okay, soldier Steven, it's two guys. If you wanna stay in the car, be my guest." Natasha said, stepping outside.

"I'll stay with Hunter." Danielle said.

With a nod, Steve climbed out of the cab. He reached for his shield, in the bed of the truck, underneath a tarp. Hakim followed him and Natasha down the highway.

They approached the car, which as soon as they realized things were going south, tried to peel out onto the highway. Hakim pulled a good amount of water from the nearby river and froze the wheels to the ground. Steve used his shield to smash the windshield, and yanked the driver out, throwing him into the grass. Natasha yanked the passenger out, and they all looked down at the pair of terrified looking men.

"They're rookies." Natasha said. "Shit, they might even be temps."

"Clearly my surveillance wasn't high priority." Hakim said. "Who do you guys work for?"

"AIM!" one of the men sputtered, holding his hands in front of his face as he spoke.

"Jesus." Steve muttered.

"Are you going to kill us?" the other whimpered.

Natasha pulled her gun out, leveling it at his head. He yelped. She rolled her eyes.

"I don't think there's much of a problem here, boys." she said.

Danielle watched the action from the review mirror, having climbing in the backseat to check on her son. She didn't see the other SUV tearing up the highway towards them, with two motorcycles behind it. It wasn't until the SUV smashed into the side of the truck that she realized.

Hunter woke, screaming in terror. She hit her head against the window, but healed almost instantaneously. She looked out of the shattered front window as the two motorcycle passengers climbed off the bikes and towards the vehicle. She moved her hand, trying to hurt them. But they continued. They wore helmets over their faces, and she could see the reflection of the truck in the shiny plastic of the lenses.

Fear gripped her chest. The first man very calmly opened the door on the opposite side of where the first car had hit. He aimed a gun at Hunter, and Danielle dove on top of her child, shielding him with her own body.

Steve's shield knocked the man to the ground. In a half a second, he was back on his feet. Lunging at Steve.

Danielle acted quickly, hurriedly unbuckling screaming Hunter and holding him to her chest. She used her elbow and hand to break the back window, ignoring the blood and pieces of glass embedded in her skin. She grabbed her backpack and Hunter's, and crawled out, pulling Hunter with her.

She ran down the highway, where Hakim was pulling more water from the river. She got behind him, not sure of what else to do. Her shield was fighting someone.

She watched as Steve pulled the helmet from the head of one of the soldiers. It became clear why she couldn't harm them. They were robots.

After so long living away from the life they'd left behind, it all came rushing back to her. The adrenaline, the excitement. The fear. She was exhilarated, fiercely protective, and feeling the surge of violence and heat underneath her skin.

Sensing that they were outgunned, the metallic soldiers simply stopped resisting. Natasha and Steve stepped back, looking at them in confusion.

In unison, both soldiers raised their arms, and pulled back their right shirtsleeve. They pressed a button.

An explosion rocked the earth. She felt the air around her shift, and felt the heat from the huge fireball hit her.

Hakim acted quickly, pushing the water towards the fire, extinguishing it effective immediately. Hunter screamed, louder and louder. Danielle nearly dropped him in an effort to get to Steve quicker. She ended up shoving her son into Hakim's safe arms, and pounded back towards the cars, which were now burnt beyond recognition.

As was Natasha, and her husband. Panicked, she fell to Steve's side first, healing him as fast as his body would allow. The shield had protected his head for the most part, but the rest of his body was blackened and bloodied. She remained calm, to her surprise, and after a couple of minutes, Steve was regenerated, slightly pinker than usual, but unharmed. Although still unconscious. She would revive him after Natasha was back to normal.

Finally, she finished her healing. Natasha blinked up at her, waking.

"God dammit I am so glad you can do that." she whispered, putting her hands to her head. The fire had singed off almost half her hair.

Danielle took Steve's hand, waking him. His wedding ring had melted off. She rubbed the finger where it was absent.

Hakim jogged over, holding the hysterical Hunter.

"Daddy!" Hunter shrieked. Hakim set him down, and his little legs hurried towards his father and mother.

"You okay?" Steve asked, holding Hunter to his chest, looking at Danielle. She nodded, still breathing heavily.

"Our ride." Hakim frowned at the charred lump of car. Traffic had built up. Danielle heard sirens. They were on the run. They needed to get out of here.

"Tasha-" Danielle turned around, but Natasha was on her feet, walking back to the young AIM agents and their car. Danielle squeezed her eyes shut as she heard Natasha's gun go off, twice. Steve's jaw clenched, but he buried his face in his son's hair, shutting his eyes for a moment. Hakim followed Natasha, melting the ice off the tires.

She climbed inside, pulling the car forward, waiting for Danielle and Steve to join them.

* * *

><p>They stopped in a motel just past the USCanadian border. Danielle had luckily grabbed the backpack with the passports, IDs, and cash in it. They had no clothes, but that could easily be remedied by a quick stop at any of the touristy shops nearby. They got two rooms. Nobody had spoke much. Danielle very quietly laid in the crickety motel bed with her son until he fell asleep.

As soon as he did, she stood, taking Steve's hand, leading him to the bathroom. She shut the door behind them, and slid down the wall, sitting on the floor, looking up at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I just want to talk to you alone for a second." she said. He grinned sheepishly, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "We need to regroup."

"Yeah." he said. She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Do you remember Italy?" she asked, and she lowered himself onto the floor, pulling her towards him.

"How could I forget that?" he asked, tapping her chin.

"I just need to pretend that we're there right now. Just you and me." she said, straddling herself across his lap and leaning her forehead against his.

"That one night?" he asked, and they both smiled.

"I remember wine."

"A lot of wine."

"Okay, a lot of wine on _my _side. You metabolize it too fast." she said.

"Um, I'm not the healer here."

She rolled her eyes. "It was good wine."

He ran a hand through her hair.

"We snuck out to that olive grove. Wait, was it grapes?" she continued. He shrugged.

"I just remember you." he said. Chills ran up her spine. She shut her eyes again, thinking of that night. She'd had the rich smelling earth in her hair for days afterwords.

He kissed her closed eyelids. "Danielle." he said, and snapped her out of the memory.

"We're going to be okay." she said, and her voice caught.

"Hey," he said, his brows knotting together. "Dani, hey."

She pressed her face into his neck, crying. "I don't like you getting blown up." she said after a second, her voice thick with tears.

"It's going to be okay." he said, rubbing her back slowly. "We're going to get through this."

She nodded, leaning back.

"We got too used to it, Steve." she said. "Used to the normality and safety. We're never going to have that, not completely."

"I'm so sorry, Danielle." he whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

Hunter woke screaming in the middle of the night, thrashing around in between his two parents. Steve gathered his son in his arms while Danielle switched on the light.

Steve hushed him, pushing his hair back. Hunter sobbed hysterically, his body shaking. The little-boy sob, world ending and shattering. It took him a few minutes to calm down, and he stuttered in his slightly limited vocabulary what had awoken him.

"Momma got real hurt...and there was big 'sploshions like today, and scary guys took me away." he said through his tears. He looked up at his mother with wide eyes. "Don't hurt again, momma."

She wiped away his tears with her thumbs, kissing him on his cheeks.

"Nobody's going to get hurt, baby." she said. "We're going somewhere where we can be safe, alright?"

He nodded, leaning his head against Steve's chest, playing with the material of his shirt absentmindedly. He sniffled.

Danielle stood, crossing the room, flicking on the TV, since it sometimes helped Hunter sleep. Steve leaned against the headboard, cradling Hunter carefully, pulling a blanket over them. Danielle sat on the bed, watching her husband in the flickering blue light of the TV. He glanced at her, and reached for her hand, squeezing it.

"We're alright." he said. She entwined her fingers with his, laying down, curling up beside him. Hunter snored softly. She shut her eyes, and Steve turned, so he could gather her in his arms as well. He held his small family as tight as he could without hurting them. "We're alright." He whispered again.

* * *

><p>The morning was spent driving East across Canada towards Calgary. The safe house was halfway between Calgary and Red Deer.<p>

They reached the house, unfollowed, by 4. Everyone was noticeably drained. They had no plan. Hunter was restless and fussy.

"Hey, 'lil man." Natasha knelt down beside him as Danielle let him out of the car. He looked up at her with his round blue eyes. "Why don't you and I go run around the forest for a while?"

He looked around at his mother for explanation. She smiled, nodding.

"He needs to stretch his legs." Natasha said when Steve gave her a look. He shrugged. She reached forward, poking him with a single finger.

"Tag." she said, and then dashed off towards the trees in the distance. He squealed, and chased after her, his little legs pumping unusually fast for a two year old's.

"Didn't know she liked kids." Danielle said to Steve. He shrugged.

"Neither did I." he said. They watched as Natasha hid behind a tree. Hunter peeked around it, and she made a growling noise, falling to her knees and crawling away rapidly. Hunter howled with laughter.

"I'm going to try and set up some communications with some of the other SC's." Hakim said. "Do you guys know who's left?"

"Tasha might." Steve said. "Leave her for a bit, though. She's got Clint off her mind, it'd be better."

Hakim nodded. "In that case, I'll do some snooping on the agent's tech."

"Make sure you disable any communication protocol." Danielle said.

"Obviously."

They walked inside the cabin, simply and cheaply furnished. Hakim set the two laptops and cell phones on the dining room table. Danielle looked around the small house, at the two bedrooms and bathroom.

She pressed her forehead against a doorframe, looking at the light rolling hills in the distance, covered in dense forestry.

She felt heat raising in her stomach, nerves crawling at the edges of her skin. She had no home, no safe place to hide. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what she _had _been doing. Was it right to have lay in hiding all this time? Shouldn't she have been helping? She'd been selfish, that's why they were here now. Because she'd only wanted Steve to herself, and that was stupid and naive, and now people had died. A lot of people. She could have saved them. He could have stopped it.

She tightened her hand, twisting her shirt in knots.

"You alright?" Steve asked. She shook her head, slightly.

"Worried." she said.

"We might have to go back." he said after a long moment.

"I know." she said softly. "But Hunter can't come with us."

He ran his hand through her hair. "I know."

"Where could we send him?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I haven't talked to anyone in so long." he said. "And won't they be looking at people who know us? It's too risky."

"Who's the last person they would expect us to trust with our son?" Danielle looked up at him.

"And who's strong enough protect him, if not us?" Steve looked down at her.

She blinked stupidly, and then had an idea.

She hurried from the house, onto the porch, and down towards where Natasha played with her son. She was sitting now, at the base of a tree, while Hunter gathered things from the woods.

_"Filial._" she said as he handed her a branch, and he cackled.

"Fil-eel." he managed, and she smiled.

"_Khorosho, malysh, khoroshiy_. Good, little one." she grinned, and looked up at Danielle. "He's smart, y'know."

"I know." Danielle said. "Strong, too. He breaks stuff all the time, without meaning too. Like his dad. Broke the remote in half the other day, barely touching it."

Natasha raised an eyebrow, looking at Hunter running around the trees.

"Breeding superbabies." she sighed. Danielle grinned ruefully.

"Listen, Tasha." Danielle said. "We're going to have to go back in. We're going to have to be offensive about this. We don't have enough power to be defensive."

"You sound like Steve." Natasha said. "But, Hunter?"

"We're going to need to call in a favor." Danielle said. "And I think you might be able to get ahold of him."

Danielle met her eyes. It took Natasha a moment, but it dawned on her. Her eyes widened.

"When was his last incident?" Danielle asked calmly. Natasha blinked.

"A year and a half ago." she replied.

"He'll be able to protect him." Danielle said. "And they won't touch him, nobody does."

"There's a reason for that." Natasha said, laughing slightly. "I mean, I can get a hold of him."

"Do it."

"Steve won't even consider it."

"He trusts him, Natasha."

"Mmhm." she slid a cell phone from her pocket, pressing some buttons. "Momma knows best, I guess."

Danielle nodded, sitting beside her. Hunter hurried over, leaning against his mother.

"Hey Bruce." Natasha said into the phone. "Listen, don't get angry, but we're going to need a favor."


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you joking? You _must _be joking." Steve shouted at Danielle.

"I'm not." Danielle said rather stubbornly. Natasha sat perched on the edge of the couch, watching the argument like a tennis match. "He'll be here tomorrow morning."

She saw his jaw clench, and her eyes flashed. They started shouting at the same time, and even Natasha jumped.

"You are putting his life in danger!" Steve screamed.

"Have you not noticed? His life is already in danger!"

"Putting him in the hands of someone that unpredictable-"

"Someone who is responsible for saving my life."

"_I_ saved your life!"

Her eyes widened. He swallowed.

She took a deep breath and turned, storming from the house.

He looked at Natasha warily.

"Yeah, that was stupid to say." she said, nodding. "Go after her." she looked over her shoulder at Hunter, who was peering out of one of the bedroom doors. "And don't yell in front of your kid. Trust me." she added, standing and crossing to Hunter. She knelt down, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

_"Oi jemoi._" she said softly. He grinned slightly. "Come on, let's go play games, huh?"

Steve slammed the door behind him as he walked towards Danielle. He vaguely heard shattering glass, but didn't want to think about it.

"Dani!" he said as she hurried towards the forest. She slowed once she reached the trees, putting her hands on her head.

She turned, facing him.

"I'm just worried, Danielle." he said.

"I know. Me too. But what are we going to do Steve? Take him with us? Everyone else they would see as _vulnerable. _He's the strongest, he's the closest." She wiped the tears from her cheeks in frustration. "Everyone else they would see as _vulnerable. _Bruce's the strongest, he's the closest. To us. They wouldn't think to try and hurt Hunter when The Hulk is the babysitter."

He sighed. She had a point. He couldn't think of a better solution.

"Do you remember what you told me, so long ago, when I asked to go to the hospital, to help people. Do you remember what you said?"

"You can't save everyone." he said. "But I think our _son _might be an exception to that particular belief."

"We can't do anything but protect him." she said. "In this case, I feel like _my _option, is better than bringing him with us to the fight. He's two years old, Steve."

He blinked, and leaned against a tree, looking at her slightly hopelessly.

"I don't know what I was thinking, agreeing to hide two years ago. It's not who you...or _we, _are. Hunter is the most important thing in my life next to you. And it was selfish, so selfish, to keep you away from your duty. You love what you do. You're proud to fight for this country and it's like...I just forgot about all that."

"I was the one who suggested it, Danielle." he said, and she shrugged. "But you're right." he said. "And I know you're right, and I don't want to admit it, because it scares me."

"I know."

He walked towards her, pulling her against his chest.

"Danielle, if I could, I would trade everything. _Everything _I have and have done, what I am, just so I could be with you. In a heartbeat, I'd take it all back. But I can't, no matter how much I want to. It's something that's a part of me."

"Also you'd age 90 years and die, probably." she said with a small smile, and he grinned.

"We can't give up who we are." he said. "Not even for our family, or eachother."

She nodded.

"We have get back to work, is what we have to do." Danielle admitted. He kissed her on the forehead.

"When this is over, we can move back to the house." he said. She looked up at him, warily.

"_Our _house? In New York?" she asked. He nodded.

"We're going to be in danger no matter where we run, Danielle. It's a side effect of who and what we are. Why not go back to our home? I'd rather live there than anywhere else."

She took a breath, pushing her head against his shoulder.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure." he said.

She took his hand, leading him back to the house.

"You broke the window." she said as they neared the porch. He sighed, looking at the broken glass all over the wooden steps.

"I forget sometimes." he said. She smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

"I know, baby, I know."

* * *

><p>Bruce seemed slightly uncomfortable at first, but as soon as he was caught up on everything, and got to know Hunter, he seemed a little more at ease. He helped with plans of attack, trying to ensure the most successful mission.<p>

The afternoon carried on as they sat around the small dining table, considering different tactics. Hunter played at everyone's feet, laying underneath the table on his belly, coloring.

Suddenly, right before 4, there was a large crash in the front yard. Everyone was on their feet at once, running towards the front door. Natasha lingered, standing beside Bruce with her hand on his arm.

"I'm fine." he said, slightly irritated. She glanced at Hunter, who peeked out from behind a leg of the table.

Danielle pushed herself around Steve's shield, looking at the yard.

"Well, to be honest, that could have been done a little more gracefully." Tony said as he pushed himself up from the dirt, dusting off the Iron Man suit as he moved with mechanical whirrs and clicks towards the house. Smoke drifted off the edges of the suit. "It's a bit damaged, I'm afraid, I took on fire over Houston."

"Where have you been?" Natasha demanded. He slid his helmet off.

"I was in Cuba." he said. "Didn't realize the world was ending. You didn't call when you stole my jet?"

"Borrowed." Natasha said, glancing at Steve. "And I did call you."

He shrugged. "Sent you to voicemail, I guess. I didn't get an invite? Have I not proved time and time again I am actually a great team player?"

Hunter peered around his mother's legs, looking up at Tony.

"Iron Man!" he said, excited.

"Even this small creature wants me to be here." Tony said, stomping up the stairs. "He's as beautiful as you are Steve. Way to go."

Steve sighed, scooping down to pick up Hunter, who hid his face in his neck, shyness overcoming him.

"Glad to see you." Steve admitted. Tony looked surprised.

"Can't have a good reunion without the whole band." he smiled. "Now, can your..." he glanced down at the band on his ring finger. "wife, patch me up? I've been shot a few times."

"Come on." Danielle said, ushering him into the house.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you ALL so much for reviewing, I can't believe the response I'm so lucky to have received in such a short time. So thrilled to see some original supporters, you guys are amazing, you know who you are. (I'm looking at you weasleylover10 and aliceindeepdarkwonderland)**  
><strong>Thanks to my readers and likers and subscribers. Thank you all so much. You are the reason I do this! Much love, and stay tuned, update in a couple of days!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Danielle woke up with Hunter curled up beside her. He had his own bed at home, but she missed having him beside her when she slept, like he'd done when he was a baby. She wrapped her arms around him, smelling his hair. He blinked up at her, and snuggled close.

"Hi momma." he whispered softly, touching her neck carefully. "Are you going with daddy away today?"

"I am, baby, but just for a little bit." she replied. He rested her chin on her shoulder, sighing. She looked at him carefully, at all of his features that so strongly resembled his father's. She smiled gently, rubbing his cheek.

"Coming back, promise?" he said.

"Promise." she said, holding back a flood of tears. She sniffed, pulling him into her arms and holding him tightly.

"Love love love." he said carefully.

"Love you, little man." she said. Steve walked out of the bathroom, and leaned against the doorway, looking at his son and wife. His chest ached. Danielle looked up at him over Hunter's head, meeting his eyes. He stood a little straighter that morning, and his eyes were slightly darker. He was focused. She hadn't seen his face like this in a long time. But when he looked at her, he smiled. A few days before, he would have climbed in bed, pulling them both into his arms. They would have spent the morning there, making Hunter laugh, smothering each other with love.

He walked from the room, saying good morning to Natasha. Danielle closed her eyes, trying to remember that this day would be over. That everything would be over, and she could climb right back into bed with her son and kiss him goodnight.

* * *

><p>The first step on the plan was to get a jet. This would be pretty much the easiest step, as most military outposts knew who Steve was, and seeing he was technically a Captain, he could use his military status to get a jet.<p>

They drove to a military base right on the edge of the border, and after a quick meeting with the head of the base, they'd accumulated a small jet.

"That was fast." Danielle said, standing up after Steve walked from the office.

"I promised we'll come back and visit when we were through. Photo op." he grinned. She patted him on the arm.

A couple sergeants lingered in the hallway, watching their group with curiosity.

Natasha cocked an eyebrow at them, strutting past.

They crossed the tarmac, and Hakim set to work setting up a communications center in the back of the jet. Danielle leaned against the wall of the plane, watching Natasha as she sat in the pilot's seat. Anxiety crept into her chest.

A brief and sudden blitz attack on the headquarters, taking down as many leaders of AIM at one time. Pull back. Wait for whatever came next. Cut off the head of the snake, and the snake dies.

Simple.

* * *

><p>Halfway to DC, Tony made a loud irritated noise from the back of the jet.<p>

"They're in my _house._" he said when everyone looked at him in confusion. "AIM. They're camping out there. Like the organizations' personal motel. Oh my gosh, they're tracking dirt _everywhere._"

"You have access to their intel?" Hakim said, peeking out from his laptop at Tony.

"Uh, yeah. I just got back into my security system. God, for an intelligence organization, they're really stupid. Well, I guess, I _do_ have the largest security networking processors, and the most power, and the nicest stuff." he groaned suddenly. "Oh my gosh, look, this guy is sitting on a decorative sofa. Sitting. It's supposed to be admired." he spun the iPad towards Hakim, who blinked.

"Tony." Natasha said sharply.

"Calm down, I'm running a ghost decryption so they don't see what I'm doing. Looks like they have everyone there, though."

"So, New York?" Danielle asked.

"Looks to be that way." Tony said. "Wait, if this whole showdown is happening at my house-"

"_Tony._" Steve said sharply, and even Tony faltered.

"Right. Okay." he cleared his throat.

"Do they have defenses up?" Steve asked, his voice lowered only slightly.

"Not for too much longer."

"This feels too...easy." Danielle said softly. Natasha glanced over her shoulder.

"She's right." Natasha said.

"Well, as much as we appreciate the women's intellect-" Tony began, and then began coughing. Steve looked at Danielle at he glared at Tony. Her eyes flashed.

"Why do we always end up fighting in tight spaces?" Hakim said exasperatedly over Tony's coughing.

Tony hacked, and flipped off Danielle.

"You want herpes, Stark?" she shouted.

"Can't get what you already have." Natasha said flatly.

"Enough!" Steve shouted, and everyone fell silent. He shot a look at Danielle, and Tony gasped for air. "We don't have time for bickering, we need to focus. Tony, can you make _sure _that this isn't some trap we're walking into?"

"As long as you keep a leash on your wife." he said, turning back to his tablet. Steve's jaw clenched, but he put a hand up before Danielle started shouting.

"Call her Danielle."

"Keep a leash on _Danielle._" Tony said, not looking up.

"Holy shit." Natasha said softly, looking out of the windshield. Everyone moved to the front of the plane as it rocketed across the sky. Below them, a fire roared, larger than any of them had ever seen. Buildings toppled. Houses sat in smoking crumbles. The flames stretched for miles.

"What is that?" Hakim asked.

"Most of Detroit." Natasha whispered, blinking rapidly.

"_What?_" Danielle whimpered.

"Put us down." Steve said. Danielle looked over at him. Natasha sent the plane towards a parking lot on the outskirts of town. "We have to help." he said, sounding slightly helpless.

Danielle nodded. The petty argument moments earlier had simply evaporated. Everyone sat in solemn silence as the plane lowered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the delay in update guys. This took wayyyy longer than I wanted it to. Dealing with a breakup currently so I didn't have the energy to write. Once I sat down and made myself though, I felt way better. Please review and I'll get the update out soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

The small team moved through the remains of the city. Both Tony and Danielle hurried, forgetting that they could breathe much easier than their companions. Tony with his mask, and Danielle with her self-healing lungs; they both had to stop and wait for the others to catch up.

The solid black asphalt and sidewalks beside it seemed to be all that remained. The rest was piles of ash, dust, or embers glowing slightly. The air was thick with the smell of burnt wood, metal, plastic, and even an acrid hint of human flesh. Danielle's trembled as she desperately searched for any survivors.

They walked into town, in silence, through once suburb streets. Steve watched his wife's eyes wide with hope, wide with desperation. He'd seen the fire-bombings in the war. There would be no survivors. Heat rippled off the blacktop, in thick waves. Sweat clung to them all.

_"No sign of life, sir." _JARVIS said, after sweeping the surrounding area.

"I was afraid you might say that." Tony sighed.

Danielle's eye caught movement, at the end of a cul-de-sac. She blinked. Everyone slowed to a stop. Crawling from the rubble was a child. His name escaped her lips before she ran towards him.

"Hunter!" she cried. Steve was faster, and he stopped her, blocking her view, holding his shield tightly. She blinked in confusion as her son began walking towards them.

"Momma!" he said, his face lighting up. He broke into a jog, holding his arms out, running along the sidewalk.

What was he doing here? He wasn't here. He was in Canada, safe. But no, there he was. Right there, coming towards them. No, it wasn't him. That's what Steve was saying to her, over and over, but she couldn't register.

"Steve-" Danielle whispered, looking up at him. His mouth was ajar.

A two story house, one of the last standing buildings, made a deafening crack as Hunter ran past it. The bricks came tumbling down, crashing towards Hunter.

Instinct took over reason, and Danielle shoved past Steve, towards her son. The building was close, and she got to the pile of rubble before Steve could stop her. She fell on top of it, hurriedly pushing away the bricks, ignoring the heat. She felt arms on her, but pushed back, and Steve fell behind her, his breath knocked from his chest.

An arm appeared, the same arm that she'd seen a million times before, with the dimple in the elbow and the freckles across the forearm. She quickly moved the last few pieces of debris off her son, shaking, tears running down her face. She healed him, but miraculously, he seemed fine.

He opened his mouth, and his teeth were rows of sharp metal. She screamed, but it was too late. She felt his teeth clamp onto her hand, and felt something surge into her bloodstream. Icy cold.

From all around them, all at once, a small army of robot soldiers, like the ones from before, activated, rising from the dust. Danielle watched in horror as the flesh melted off her son, and all that was left was a miniature robot.

Steve pulled her to her feet. He looked at her hand, which bled. She was _bleeding. _She looked at the unfamiliar red liquid as it dripped from her hand.

"What happened?" he demanded. "You knocked me out, Danielle."

She held her hand up. Their eyes met, and he swallowed.

"Uhh, guys." Natasha whispered.

"Hakim, can you make a...forcefield. Ice castle? Or something?" Tony asked, as they all walked towards one another, facing the robots.

"That would work _great_ if there was any water anywhere." Hakim said.

"Why can't you do something?" Natasha hissed at Tony.

"They've disabled my defensive protocols, remotely. They're rebooting, but that takes a minute or two." he said. "All my weapons are down."

Natasha slipped her guns from her holsters. Danielle stared in shock at her bleeding hand. She was numb. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

"We have to run." Steve said, quickly. He sounded panicked. His arm was wrapped tightly around Danielle, protectively.

"We're surrounded." Natasha said through clenched teeth.

"Distraction until Tony's rebooted?" Hakim whispered. Steve nodded.

"Cover her." he said to Natasha, moving forward. Natasha jumped in front of Danielle as the bullets began raining down on them. They crouched down, as Steve deflected as many as he could. He moved fast, taking out the robots one at a time. Finishing off one, and moving to the next. Danielle laid face down on the hot asphalt, Hakim beside her, Natasha laying atop her, firing rapidly from her guns, trying to help Steve.

After what seemed like forever, Tony's suit rebooted. He launched into the air, and the quick succession of bullets from his shoulders took out the rest of the robots in mere seconds.

"Run!" Natasha said, pulling Danielle to her feet. Hakim followed, and they sprinted back towards the parking lot where the plane left. Tony flew above them, firing as reinforcements appeared in the rubble. Steve followed at their heels.

Finally, without incident, the plane appeared in the distance.

"That's our way out, Stark, don't let them get it!" Steve shouted up at him.

Suddenly, a bullet went through Danielle's chest. She gasped, and fell against the road, skidding to a stop. She couldn't breathe from the pain, and she rolled over, her back arching. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't heal. She laid there, helpless, staring at the smoky sky.

Steve scooped her up effortlessly, hardly breaking pace.

They clambered into the jet, Tony still firing off outside. Natasha started the engines. Bullets ricocheted off the metal outside.

"I'll fly with you to cover you." Tony said over the intercom. The plane lifted up.

Steve laid Danielle on the ground. She could feel where the bullet had ripped through her, below the breast, through the lung, cracking some ribs. She wouldn't last long.

"They gave her the antiserum." Hakim said, falling to his knees beside her. Steve nodded. Hakim reached for a jacket on one of the seats, and pressed it into Danielle's chest. Danielle was hyperventilating as her lungs slowly began filling with blood.

"Stay with me, Danielle." Steve said gently. "Baby, I need you to just stay right here, keep your eyes on me." he looked towards the front of the plane. "Natasha, get us to a hospital, any hospital, as soon as you can."

"There's a military base in Toronto." Natasha said. "Just under 10 minutes out."

Fear overtook Danielle, and she grasped at Steve. She didn't know if she would last that long. She was bleeding heavily, and couldn't breathe.

"Danielle, baby, you're alright, it's alright. Stay with me." he said, trying to remain calm.

She tried to focus on his face. Ash and dirt had darkened it, locks of hair hung in front of his eyes, which were rimmed with tears. He took the jacket from Hakim, pressing it into the wound, and pulling her up and into his arms. With one arm, he cradled her head, and with the other, he tried to stop the bleeding. Her eyes began to close.

"Danielle!" Steve shouted. "C'mon, stay here, stay here for Hunter, okay? And me. Dani, please. Danielle!"

She felt like she was sinking underwater. Steve's face and voice faded all at once.

Blackness overtook her.


End file.
